Health and Fitness Tips

Custom earplugs are made from an impression taken of your ear canals. Here is a short explanation of the process which will take place once you have selected which earplug provider you wish to purchase from.

Before visiting your audiologist

If you suffer (or have previously suffered) from ear wax build up, then it’s worth making an appointment with your doctor or practice nurse to check on your ears and if necessary to get the wax removed, before you make an appointment with your audiologist.

If ear wax is allowed to build up, then the mould of your ear canal will not be totally accurate, because the excess wax will stop an effective seal being created. This in turn can lead to an earplug being made which does not fit you properly.

For the same reasons it is best to allow any surgery that you may have had on your ears to fully heal. This ensures that your ears have returned to their natural shape before having your impression taken.

During your appointment

To start with, your audiologist is likely to ask you a few simple questions about your general state of health – this is to make sure that there are no underlying conditions which would affect the impression being taken. They will also inspect your ears to make sure everything is healthy and there isn’t a build up of wax.

The next stage involves a small piece of cotton or foam being placed into your ear. This acts as a barrier and stops the material used to create the impression from coming into contact with your eardrum.

The material used to make the impression is then placed in a syringe and then slowly injected into your ear canal. This is then left to set for about 5 minutes. Your audiologist may ask you to keep very still and not to speak, this makes sure that a proper seal is created, making the impression as accurate as possible.

It is essential that the barrier piece and impression material are placed past the second bend of your ear canal. By doing this, a very deep seal will be created and will result in the very best quality custom earplug.

After the material has set, the impression will be removed and your ears will be examined again to ensure that all the material has been removed. The next stage is to send the impressions of your ears off to the company to actually manufacture your earplugs. In some cases you are responsible for sending these, while in other cases the audiologist will send them.

It will usually take around 3 weeks from sending off your impressions to receiving your custom earplugs; however this time can vary depending on the company.

Some hearing protection providers will ask you to return to your audiologist for a fitting appointment. During this appointment your audiologist will explain how to fit and remove your earplugs. Fitting and removing your earplugs is not hard, though it can take some getting used to at first. We find that the effectiveness of custom earplugs is increased when we provide training for our clients.

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